John 20:16
John 20:16 is a verse in the Gospel of John in the Bible. The verse describes the moment that Mary Magdalene realizes that Jesus has returned from the dead. Mary has found Jesus' tomb empty and is worrying about what happened to his body. At first she does not recognize Jesus when he appears, thinking he is a gardener. In John 20:16 she recognizes him when he calls her by name.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She
- turned herself, and saith unto him,
- Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
In the Vulgate Bible the text reads:
- dicit ei Iesus Maria conversa illa dicit ei rabboni quod dicitur magister
Translation notes
The exact significance of Rabboni is disputed. In Mark 10:51 it is translated as meaning "beloved teacher", but John here and in other verses translates it as simply "teacher". W. F. Albright and others interpret it as the diminutive form of Rabbi, and therefore translate it "my dear Rabbi", showing the close friendship between Mary and Jesus. Mary was thus calling Jesus with a title she had long used, signifying that she sees his return as a reversion to the status quo before his crucifixion. In John 20:17 and John 20:18 he divests her of this view, informing her that everything is changed.
However, in some works from this period Rabbuni is used as a name for God. Thus some scholars, such as Hoskyns, see the term as demonstrating that Mary has understood Jesus' divinity. Most scholars consider the title a respectful one, but less adoring than the term adonai. By contrast, when Thomas later accepts the truth of the resurrection he calls Jesus "My lord and my God" (John 20:28).
Mary's reaction seems to be spontaneous, and it is not known if "Rabboni" is an exclamation of discovery, or whether it should read "Rabboni?" with Mary momentarily questioning Jesus.
The Latin word "Magister" is usually translated as "Master", but some modern versions use "teacher" instead. The World English Bible, for instance, reads:
- Jesus said to her, "Mary." She
- turned and said to him, "Rabboni!"
- which is to say, "Teacher!"
According to Raymond E. Brown, the author of John has Jesus use the word "Miriam" to refer to Mary Magdalene rather than the more Aramaic Mariam. Some scholars see this as evidence that the two are talking in Hebrew (with the exception of the Aramaic "Rabboni"). Most scholars disagree, arguing that authors in this period tended to vary between Miriam and Mariam indiscriminately.
Context
John 20:14 has already mentioned that Mary had turned around to see Jesus, so why does this verse say she turns again? One school of thought is that unmentioned by the author Mary had turned away from Jesus in the meantime. Kastner argues that she did so because the resurrected Jesus was nude. According to Brown most scholars simply believe that she had not fully turned in John 20:14 and was now fully turning towards Jesus.
Mary earlier did not recognize Jesus. When he addresses her by name she quickly realizes who it is. Some scholars link this to John 10:3, which states that "the good shepherd calleth to him by name every sheep of his flock", arguing that Jesus using Mary's name had deep powers. Some see Mary's transition from ignorance to worship as a metaphor for the adoption of faith.
Other gospels
The three other gospels do not recount this exchange, and give somewhat different accounts of the event. Matthew 28:9, for instance goes:
- And as they went to tell his disciples,
- behold, Jesus met them, saying, All
- hail. And they came and held him by the
- feet, and worshipped him.
This passage describes the women having already been informed of the resurrection by the angels in the tomb and leaving to tell the disciples of the event. It also clearly describes more than one woman being present, and omits the period where Mary is uncertain of Jesus' identity. Mark, and Luke agree with Matthew on these incongruities. Some scholars, such as Norman Geisler, explain this by arguing that, unmentioned by John, Mary ran into another group of women after leaving the tomb. This larger group returns goes to the tomb together whence the events described by the Synoptic Gospels unfold.
Mystery play
The York Cycle of English mystery plays has a whole (ten minute) play about this incident. The word discussed above is Rabony in the original manuscript and Rabbi in one modernized version.
References
- Brown, Raymond E. "The Gospel According to John: XIII-XI" The Anchor Bible Series Volume 29A New York: Doubleday & Company, 1970.
- John Calvin's commentary on John 20:16-18
- Jesus Appears to His Disciples
- The Resurrection Account: Does it Make Sense?
| Preceded by: John 20:15 |
Chapter 20 | Followed by: John 20:17 |